Just because Chris Evans is a movie star doesn’t mean that’s all he wants to be.

In an interview with Variety, the Captain America star said he will only continue to act under Marvel contract and then wants to get behind the camera and start to direct. “I can’t see myself pursuing acting strictly outside of what I’m contractually obligated to do,” Evans said. “I’ve known for a while I wanted to direct, but [time] never really opens up. There’s another movie to do, there’s another acting job. It just got to a point where I was like, you know what – I have to do this.”

Besides the acting job he’s already finished on Captain America: The Winter Soldier (out April 4), Evans will appear in at least three sequels for The Avengers and Captain America over the next several years. He has already completed one film as a director, an intimate love story filmed in just 19 days tentatively called 1:30 Train starring Evans as a street musician who befriends a young woman (Alice Eve) after missing a train at Grand Central Station. But Evans doesn’t feel any negativity about his time as a superhero and in fact credits the Marvel universe for the opportunities now coming his way. “Without these movies, I wouldn’t be directing,” he told Variety. “They gave me enough overseas recognition to greenlight a movie. And if I’m speaking extremely candidly, it’s going to continue to do that for as long as the Marvel contract runs.”

Marvel’s original contract was for nine films, and knowing he wouldn’t be able to take a break during that time scared Evans. After it was reduced to six movies and an encouraging call from Robert Downey Jr., a.k.a. Iron Man, Evans signed on. Evans wasn’t even one of the first choices to play the patriotic pioneer, because he had already played a superhero before in the original Fantastic Four film, a movie that launched his fame to international levels and made the simple things in life hard. “The problem is, you’re either worried you’re going to be recognized or you’re thankful you’re not. It’s always there. I miss that not being in my head.”

So how serious is Evans about all of this? “For all I know, in five years, I might say, ‘Sh–, I miss acting.’ Right now, I just want to get behind the camera and make movies.”